Colorado State's Pierce Hornung passes the ball while lying on the court against Jewuan Long of Murray State during the second round of the 2012 NCAA Men's Basketball Tournament on March 15, 2012 in Louisville, Ky.

LOUISVILLE, Ky. – The time is now. All of Colorado State’s hard work has led to this – finally getting on the court in the NCAA Tournament. The 11th-seeded Rams play the tournament’s first game this morning, against sixth-seeded Murray State.

So how do the Rams win? Like this:

Rebound, rebound, rebound: If there is one area that can be a clear advantage in the Rams’ favor, it’s this one. Murray State has shown clear deficiencies in rebounding this season, and that can be a killer in a tournament scenario in two ways: A) allowing extra possessions for opponents on the offensive glass; B) being limited to fewer attempts on your own offensive possessions.

The Racers have allowed an astounding 11.7 offensive rebounds per game this season. If CSU gets at least 11 extra possessions because of offensive rebounds, this will be a much easier game for it to win. And they have the player to help get that done in forward Pierce Hornung.

Inefficient Canaan: If you’re hoping Murray State guard Isaiah Canaan will have an off-game, stop. He’ll likely get to his 19.2 points per game average. The key here for Colorado State is to make him hit his average in, say, 20 shots or more. Keep his efficiency down. If he’s jacking up shots – and missing a good number of them – it means another one of the team’s sharpshooters isn’t, and also means there’s more opportunity to limit Murray State to one possession by clearing the rebound. Canaan going for 20 or 25 points today is much better if his shot total matches his point total.

Find Eikmeier: CSU is better when Eikmeier is rolling. The Rams were 11-5 this season when he led the team in scoring, and in games like the one against TCU in the Mountain West Tournament, they’re also good when he gets off to a hot start. The Rams must get him in the flow quickly. When Eikmeier is hitting shots, it stretches the defense, which allows CSU to drive the ball to the rim easier, which results in buckets and fouls around the rim.

Then the Rams can work either way offensively by driving and dumping down to big men – Hornung, Will Bell, Greg Smith – who can finish with dunks, or by driving and kicking the ball out to 3-point shooters. But it all starts with getting Eikmeier going, thereby getting Murray State to devote extra resources to stopping him.

Follow Chris Dempsey on Twitter @dempseypost or email him at cdempsey@denverpost.com

Kensler joined The Denver Post in 1989 and has covered a variety of beats, including Colorado, Colorado State, golf, Olympics and the Denver Broncos. His brush with greatness: losing in a two-on-two pickup basketball game at Ohio State against two-time Heisman Trophy winner Archie Griffin.

Terry Frei graduated from Wheat Ridge High School in the Denver area and has degrees in history and journalism from the University of Colorado-Boulder. He worked for the Rocky Mountain News while attending CU and joined the Post staff after graduation. He has also worked at the Oregonian in Portland, Ore., and The Sporting News. His seventh book, March 1939: Before the Madness, was issued in February 2014.